The Secret Codex

LOGLINE
Upon the Pope's announcement of a celebration for the 2033rd anniversary of Christ's crucifixion, a branch of Amsterdam Templars pushes to be restated to their original role as the guardians of the church with blackmail by using an ancient secret codex. They must promote the apparent heir, the young son, with more interest in getting high and his hot girlfriend's competitive drone racing.

SUMMARY
Catherine Gronhagen (22) rehearses with her drone over the Grand Canale racecourse in Amsterdam. Her main competitor, the diabolical Spencer Reid, crashes his drone into hers upon landing, and as a result of the crash, Catherine's thumb is knocked out of its joint. Spenser and his muse, Molly, quickly leave.

Between the practice round and the upcoming competition, she heads to a café for some ice.
In the café, she meets Raymond De Vries, a stoner boy with the fastest hands racking up high scores on the Arcade game Drone Zone. Impressed with his speed, skill, and help to get her thumb back in joint, she elects to have him come and compete in the competition for her, which they win, resulting in two tickets to the final drone race in Rome next week.

Concurrently in Rome, the Pope announced that there will be a series of celebrations each year that will commemorate the second millennium of Jesus' crucifixion on April 15, 2033. The intention is that every year the Holy See will address their due problem from the ecclesiastical past to contribute to greater harmony within the Christian world as an example for others to follow.

The Templar Society in Amsterdam, a group of old men coordinated by Margaret De Vries, Raymond's mother, is aging. But they have an ancient parchment dated back to the first century, a secret codex with the signature of Judas confirming he took the place of his brother, Jesus, upon the cross so Jesus could live on.

It was from the first century of our era by Yehuda S'carjuta, better known as Judas Iscariot. They're lookalike brothers from the same mother. The plot is to switch places before Jesus is arrested and nailed to the cross to preserve Jesus' divine Acts.

The Amsterdam Templars decide to put their last hope in the hands of Raymond, the heir apparent. Through Margaret's persistence, she manages to get through to Raymond to get him to Rome and bargain with the Pope to reinstall the Templars to their former positions of glory.

However, Raymond is more interested in Catherine now than the legacy of his ancestors. But encouraged by Catherine, Raymond eventually chooses to become involved with the Templars. From that moment on, the weight of the Templar's mission is on Raymond's shoulder as Margaret explains to him the content of the Secret Codex. Raymond is given the role of discussing with the Pope what this could mean to Christianity if it were to be revealed upon the upcoming papal announcement.

Spencer and Molly have learned of the Secret Codex when Margaret has the codex dated at the Isotope Research Center. They hunt for it from Amsterdam to Rome, where they steal the codex with a monstrous drone. Spencer also has another agenda, to get his former job back managing the Vatican Library by blackmailing the Pope with the codex.

Actions pile up: Margaret gets killed, Molly suffers from conscientious objection, and the grand drone racing finale at the Coliseum starts; in the heart of Rome. At the Coliseum, Spencer announces that he's the new Caesar, holding in his hand the power to destroy Christianity and thus control the Holy See.

Finally, while chasing Spencer through the streets of Rome, using vehicles and drones, Raymond and Catherine recapture the Templar Codex.

In the resolution, all parties sit at a long table with the Pope. In front of the Pope are two speeches, the original and the alternative in which the Templars are recognized. Which one will be read from the balcony of St. Peter's Square to the sea of devoted Christians?

  • Kevin Pike
    Writer
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0683234/
  • Hans Sluijter
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    113
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Prague Indie Mania Film Awards
    Prague
    May 8, 2025
    SEMI-FINALIST
  • Venice Under the Stars
    Venice
    April 3, 2024
    Star of Venice
  • Amsterdam World Canvas Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    February 28, 2024
    Best First-Time Screenwriter
  • Sunny Film Festival
    Berlin
    February 2, 2024
    Best Action Screenplay
  • Lonely Wolf Film Festival
    London
    April 29, 2023
    6 times Nominee: best drama, romantic drama, action drama, feature screenplay, Sci-Fi/fantasy, thriller/psychological
  • Hollywood Gold Awards
    Hollywood
    October 5, 2023
    Gold Award
  • Paris Film Award
    Paris
    April 5, 2023
    Gold Award: Feature Script
  • Snow Leopard International Film Festival
    Madrid
    April 7, 2023
    Best Original Screenplay
  • New York Movie Awards
    New York
    March 6, 2023
    Award Winner
  • Hollywood Screenplay Awards
    Hollywood
    January 13, 2023
    Best Thriller Screenplay
  • Rome Movie Awards
    Rome
    December 15, 2022
    Best Feature Script
  • Best Script Award London
    London
    August 22, 2022
    Best Thriller Screenplay
  • EdiPlay International Film Festival
    France
    December 5, 2022
    Award Winner
  • Dreamz Catcher International Film Festival
    India
    February 10, 2023
    Award Winner
  • Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival
    Liverpool
    February 11, 2023
    Best Drama
  • Monthly Future Of Film Awards
    North Macedonia
    December 1, 2022
    Best Feature Script
  • Spring Time Film Festival
    India
    January 12, 2023
    Award Winner
  • Zagreb International Film Festival
    Zagreb
    March 3, 2023
    Best Screenplay
  • Kosice International Film Festival
    Kosice
    October 27, 2022
    Best Script
  • Red Wolf Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    November 3, 2022
    Award Winner
  • Movie Play International
    Los Angeles
    November 27, 2022
    Best Screenplay
  • Filmen International Film Competition
    Paris
    September 28, 2023
    Best International Feature Script
  • Magic Silver Screen
    Orleans
    December 2, 2022
    Award Winner
  • Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition
    Big Apple
    April 21, 2023
    Honorable Mention
  • Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards
    Best Screenplay (Main Category)
    August 20, 2022
    Honorable Mention
  • New York Metropolitan Int'l Screenwriting Competition
    New York
    November 18, 2022
    Finalists
  • Indiefare International Film Festival
    New York
    December 26, 2022
    Finalist
  • Silicon Beach Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    September 15, 2022
    Finalist
  • FilmNest International Film Festival
    India
    May 12, 2023
    Finalist
  • 4th Dimension Independent Film Festival
    Houston
    December 15, 2022
    Nominee
  • Florence Film Awards
    Florence
    February 5, 2023
    Silver Award
  • Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards
    Los Angeles
    August 20, 2022
    Semi-Finalist
  • San Francisco International Screenwriting Competition
    San Francisco
    December 8, 2022
    Semi-Finalist
  • Boston Screenplay Awards
    Boston
    February 3, 2023
    Semi-Finalist
Writer Biography - Kevin Pike, Hans Sluijter

Drawing on my Dutch background and years as a teacher and sociologist, I developed a deep understanding of human behavior and the power of storytelling to influence, inspire, and unite.

This foundation propelled me into screenwriting, where I now bring layered, globally resonant narratives to life, including 'The Secret Codex', co-written with Hollywood veteran Kevin Pike (Jaws, Back to the Future, Fight Club, Star Trek, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Close Encounters of the Third Kind).

This collaboration affirmed my belief in bold, cross-cultural storytelling. Committed to creating cinema that connects and endures, my stories are ready, and I'm actively seeking the right partnerships to bring them to the screen.

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Writer Statement

I never lose. I either win or learn.